(Portions of this story courtesy of the Trinity University and Southwestern University websites)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- SCAC champion Trinity University received the league's automatic bid and Southwestern University received one of six at larges as the two conference squads prepare for play in the 37-team NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships. This year's championship is set to begin with first, second- and third-rounds at predetermined sites, Friday-Sunday, May 14-16, or Thursday-Saturday, May 13-15. Interactive Bracket | NCAA Release
This marks the first time since 2008 the SCAC has sent multiple teams to the men's national championship.
Both Trinity and Southwestern will open up 2021 NCAA Playoffs at the University of Texas-Dallas this weekend.
The University of the South and the Chattanooga Sports Commission will host the team championships finals, which will be held May 24-26 at Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Student-athletes selected to the individual championships will be announced Wednesday, May 12.
Trinity, which won its 11th consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship on May 2, defeating Southwestern 5-2 in the tournament finale, opens with a second-round match against Concordia (TX) University on Saturday, May 15, at 10 a.m. The winner will play on Sunday for the chance to advance to the NCAA Championships round in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Trinity has also qualified for 11 straight NCAA Tournaments, including 27 overall appearances in the playoffs. The Tigers made the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2015, as well as the NCAA Semifinals in 2014. Trinity won the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2000, as well as the NCAA Division I title in 1972.
This season, Trinity holds an overall record of 14-7 that includes wins over Division I teams Rice University and the University of the Incarnate Word. The Tigers stand 12-0 against Division III opponents this year.
Making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, Southwestern will face the Stevens Institute of Technology in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Regionals hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, Texas, on May 15. Stevens went 11-0 this season, including 5-0 in conference play, earning an automatic bid after winning their 11th consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom championship. Stevens was ranked No. 12 in the Atlantic South Region by the NCAA.
Southwestern finished the season with a 14-2 record, losing both matches to Trinity, including in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship match. The Pirates were ranked second in the West Region by the NCAA, with Hunter Bajoit ranked as the No. 4 singles player. Both marks are program bests.
The Pirates earned their first doubles tournament bid in 2017 with Grant Gideon '18 and Nickoloz Snovely '17. Alexis Dimanche '20 became the first individual to earn a tournament bid in 2018 when he became the program's first All-American.
Emory (Ga.) University is the defending national champion, having defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 5-3, to claim the 2019 team title.
